After 3 days of putting Prednisolone eye drops in my eyes every hour as well as Ketorolac three times a day, it was finally time for my second visit with the Doctor. During the 3 days that I had between visits, I had time to look up this crazy inflammation that decided to take over my poor eye. Initially, I wasn't going to look up any of it!! I didn't want all of the "facts" or "opinions" to try and infiltrate my optimism. But then I decided TO check it out just so I can see how awesome of a miracle that is going to be performed!! The one thing that really has stuck with me is Iritis is the third leading cause of preventable blindness!!! How crazy?! Mike and I never go to the Doctor unless something is SERIOUSLY!!! wrong. In fact, the eight years that we have been together, Mike has NEVER once been to the doctor other than his eye doctor because he has astigmatism and wears contacts!! But I could have lost the vision completely in my eye had I not been proactive and went to see the Doctor!!
Luckily, 79% of people who do get this never get it again and they never know what caused it!! But the other 21% of people who have it to reoccur have a deep problem within their bodies and then they have to find the source of what is causing the inflammation to come (i.e; diseases, certain syndromes, infections, etc). These are just the facts.....I am not focused on what could possibly be but on what IS going to be and that is a complete and total healing to my sight. In words of a close friend, "Better than perfect vision restored!!"
Thursday, June 20th, rolls around. I was actually excited to be going to this appointment!! No, I couldn't tell a difference in anything really except for my headaches had subsided and my eye didn't feel as "full" as it did when I had went in on Monday. But my vision was still really blurry and very sensitive to bright light. Despite all of that, I knew we were going to get good news. I could just feel it!! So they call me back, check the pressure in my eye, do a vision test, and the Doctor once again thoroughly examines my eye again. He turns and types on the computer then turns back around to explain everything to me. (I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Hahaha.) On Monday when I came in the pressure in my eye was a 25 which is really high and today it was a 19, which is high but its a normal high. So we were back in the safe zone. My vision HAD improved and I had no idea!!! I was able to distinguish more letters and easier than I had been able to at my first appointment!! Also, he said the inflammation is responding to the steroid eye drops!!! (Hallelujah!! The last thing I want to have to do is take an oral steroid OR have injections in my eye ball!!!) He said when I came in on Monday, on a scale of 1 to 4, he would have rated me a 3+, almost 4, my eye was so severely inflamed and today he was rating me a 2!!! He said this was the best case scenario for our time frame!! Now we are going to start tapering off the steroid drops for the next week to start the weaning process. We can't stop them cold turkey because the inflammation will just come back and worse than it was before so we have to take it really slow and make sure the eye is still responding to them while we reduce the amount needed until the inflammation is completely gone.
I was on cloud 9!! This WAS the miracle I had been praying for. Yes, I wanted to be completely and totally healed by that appointment. But even though that didn't come at this one, it doesn't make the miracle of how far I had come in three days any LESS of a miracle for how bad off my eye actually was. Healings sometimes take time and faith and being steadfast on what you know is the true and perfect will of God.
While we were wrapping up the appointment, the Doctor told me he was going to put a drop of Atrophine in my eye to cause it to dilate for a while to keep any of the white blood cells and inflammation from wanting to stick to my iris and cause permanent damage to it (hence why I have been walking around with a crazy eye lately!! ;) Then I went to check out with the receptionist. They are such a fun loving group of people up there and were all joking around and talking with me so it took a good minute to get my next appointment scheduled. When the receptionist handed me my appointment card she said, "Alright, we will see you next Thursday!!" And I looked at her all confused with my check already written out just waiting on her to tell me the total, "Wait, I have to pay you for today!!" To which she replies, "No sweetheart, the Doctor no charged your visit today!!" I was so caught off guard. My heart fell to my knees and I thought I was going to break into a million pieces on the office floor. I could not believe it. We had budgeted everything out for our week; tithes and offering, groceries, gas, etc, and had a certain amount left and were praying that it would cover my visit and I took it in faith that it was enough and the Doctor no charged my visit!!!!! Is anyone getting this?!?! Am I the only person in the world that gets completely moved when I realize that someone else has paid the price for ME?!?! I have had people buy my food in a drive thru and to hear the words, "Oh, its already been paid for you." always brings me to want to move in way more compassion than I was ever operating in before. God giving us Jesus as a living sacrifice to pay for all of our sins on the cross over 2000 years ago is the greatest gift I have ever been given. But to have people to remind me of this through acts of kindness, love and compassion tears me up every.single.time.
Lord, I am amazed by you!! You are so faithful. You know my needs and provide for them. You never cease to blow my mind when I least expect it!! I love you so much, Father and look forward to the miracle you will continue pouring out through this journey that I am going through. I pray that these words and this testimony will touch someone else, that it will bring hope to those who are in similar situations and are having to learn to completely rely on You. That in it all You will be given all of the praise!!! You are so worthy, Lord....so so worthy!!
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